It's a Secret
by Kariiya
Summary: A girl with a mysterious past and even more mysterious future decides to "become a ninja" in her own way.  With the help of Team 7, will she be able to locate and pursue her dream?
1. The Beginning

"Oi! Oi, Hikari-chan!"

A girl with beautiful chestnut hair that grew down to her waist, turned around towards the sound. Her purplish-blue eyes scanned the empty hall for any sign of the person who called her name then sighed as she saw no one.

_It was my memory again_, she thought and continued walking down the empty hall, her sandals making a tak noise every time she took a step._ I wish I knew how to block out my past._

Hikari idly touched the kunzite on her choker and lowered her hand down by her side. She turned to her left, and opened the door in front of her and was instantly greeted by raucous yelling. Her gaze slowly shifted to the front of the room as she watched a young, blond-haired boy with sky blue eyes receive a scolding.

A sympathetic smile graced her face as she walked through the aisles between the desks, her strange colored eyes searching for a seat. Finally, one was found next to a girl with green eyes and pink hair and she proceeded to walk to the empty seat.

Hikari sent her a questioning look about the situation regarding the young boy up front.

"It's said that Naruto painted the faces of the hokage on the monument," she replied with a wide grin. Hikari chuckled.

"Poor Naruto," she commented softly. She glanced at Sakura from the side of her eyes and chuckled softly. "You got a seat next to Sasuke-san," she whispered.

Sakura flashed her a grin, blushing at the same time producing another chuckle from Hikari. She laid her head down on the desk and closed her eyes, patiently waiting for the scene up front to end.

"Tomorrow is the day that all your classmates will pass to become a shinobi," Iruka began calmly, keeping his temper in check. "The last two times you've tried, you've flunked every course you had taken! So why do you waste your talent on stupid tricks? Start acting straight for once!"

Naruto just looked away, defiance becoming quite apparent in the boy's stature. The rising defiance was quite clear to Iruka who lost his temper. The teacher swiveled around in anger and pointed to the classroom.

"All right. Thanks to Naruto, you all will be performing the transformation jutsu!" he yelled.

"What?" The whole class moaned and groaned in protest. Hikari peeked an eye open, feeling the corner of her lip turn up a little in what seemed to be a small smirk. _These students..._

"Your assignment is to transform yourself to look like me," Iruka explained as everyone reluctantly got out of their seats and lined up at the front. "Should be easy enough."

Hikari slowly walked up towards the front with the rest of the students and stood between Naruto and Sasuke. Beside him was Sakura who was first in line.

"Haruno, Sakura," called Iruka. With a haughty grin the pink-haired kunoichi walked towards the teacher then turned around to face the line of students. She put her hands together to form the kata required to preform the task at hand.

"**Henge***!" she yelled. White smoke enveloped the young girl and when the smoke cleared, there stood Sakura, who now looked like Iruka, with a large grin on her face. Iruka made a mark on his clipboard with satisfaction as the clone disappeared in a puff of smoke to reveal Sakura jumping up and down with happiness.

"Did you see that, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked, the grin plastered on her face as she looked directly at her crush. Sasuke merely stared at the front with his hands in his pockets, completely ignoring his fan as she walked dejectedly to her seat.

"Good. Perfect. Next, Uchiha, Sasuke." Sasuke took a step forward and made the right kata from his hands.

"**Henge**," he said in a neutral tone and turned into a clone of Iruka, holding the demon wind shuriken in his hand. He changed back into his natural form as Iruka smiled and marked something down on his clipboard.

"Nice. Next Miko, Hikari."

Hikari stepped forward with a smile and was immediately enveloped in smoke without doing or saying anything. When the smoke had cleared, there stood a perfect replica of Iruka, holding his clipboard with a look of surprise on his face. The real Iruka's mouth fell open and the clone did the same movement. The real Iruka took out a kunai and in the blink of an eye, the clone had drawn out his own weapon and was at Iruka's throat. The smoke enveloped Hikari as she turned back to her true form, a smile upon her face.

_A little fun here and there won't hurt, _she thought. _Perhaps that was a bit...overdone, though._

"Nicely done, Hikari," Iruka applauded. "Good job. "

Hikari merely stretched and strode to her seat, watching as it became Naruto's turn.

"Okay, keep your eyes peeled! 'Cause if you blink, you'll miss out! **Henge**!" Naruto was surrounded by blue chakra and quickly enveloped in smoke.

Hikari's shoulders heaved as she tried not to laugh as she saw a fully developed young woman with blond hair and blue eyes standing in a provocative stance with wisps of smoke covering her feminine parts.

Hikari managed to catch sight of her teacher stuffing tissues up his nose to stop his nose bleed, furthering her mirth. Naruto changed back to his original form, laughing. "Ha! Did you like that! Thats what I call the**Henge no Jutsu**!"

"You fool!" Iruka bellowed, his face contorted with anger. "You have magnificent talent and you waste it on stupid tricks!"

Hikari bit her lip, trying to hold in her laughter. It was apparent to anyone at how hard of a task this became as tears began rolling down her face from laughing too hard. But along with the laughter lay a small twinge of regret from laughing.

_Poor Naruto_, she thought. Then she stood.

"Sensei, he shouldn't be the only one punished," she said. "I attacked you while I was in transformation. The rules clearly state that no student should attack their sensei without permission to do so. Also...I helped Naruto-kun paint the hokage faces. That's why I was late. You should punish me also."

Iruka gaped at her and so did everyone else in the classroom. Hikari could feel the stares of belief that began to permeate into her back, but she stood firm and stared her teacher down. Naruto watched in disbelief as a pregnant silence grew in the classroom. He finally broke into a grin as he realized what the young girl was trying to do for him.

_Thank you_, he thought silently. _But you didn't have to lie._

**~*Later...*~**

"Thank you, Hikari-chan," Naruto whispered to the girl beside him as he scrubbed the paint off of the hokage monument. Hikari simply shrugged.

"That's what friends are for," she replied. "And besides, I don't have anyone to go to right now so what else am I supposed to do before tomorrow?" A smile graced her lips as she looked at Naruto.

"You two won't leave until every single drop of paint is completely off," Iruka said sternly as he spotted the two talking. "And Hikari I'm so disappointed in you for helping Naruto. You're one of my best students and all of a sudden you start acting up. I just...there are no words for my disappointment."

Hikari simply let her chestnut coloured hair fall to veil her face. Of course she did it for Naruto, but she still felt a little sad. The young boy watched his friend, a small amount of anger building inside him.

"So? It's not like someones waiting for us back at our own houses," he yelled then continued scrubbing. Iruka looked at the two with pity in his eyes. A small sigh escaped his lips.

"Hey, Naruto...Hikari," he called softly. Iruka sweatdropped at the varying looks he received by his two students as they looked up at him. One had a soft look while the other looked up with defiance and contempt.

"Well... I was wondering if...you know, if you two wanted to go for a bowl of ramen tonight after you two are finished," he suggested, scratching his scarred nose. Naruto's eyes suddenly lit up and a bright smile stretched across his face.

"Hell yeah! Come on, Hikari-chan! Let's finish!" Hikari scrubbed as hard as she could, knowing that the sooner they finish, the quicker they can get to their reward.

"I bet I can get my side cleaned faster than you," she replied with a challenging smile.

"YOU'RE ON!"

**~*Later...*~**

"I'll pass," said Hikari as they reached the ramen bar. "I'm not hungry. Besides, I've got a bill to pay off for the apartment which means I'll have to go do my job. I've left the herb shop alone for too long."

She bowed to Iruka and waved to Naruto as she ran off. Iruka ordered two bowls of ramen and sat next to his student.

"Naruto," he called, his mouth full of ramen, then swallowed.

"Hm?" Naruto answered, slurping up his noodles.

"Why, of all tricks, did you decide to paint the hokage faces? You do know who the hokage is, right?"

"Of course. Hokage means that you're the top dog of the village and everyone has to respect you."

"Then why did you do it?"

Naruto had finished swallowing his mouth full of noodles and began slurping up some more.

"Because, one day, they'll be the ones respecting me. I'll be the hokage and everyone will have to. No one will ignore me or look at me with hate, because I'm going to surpass every single one who came before me!"

"Oh, then how'd you get Hikari to help you?"

"I didn't! She lied so she could share the blame with me! She's really nice Iruka-sensei, and I don't understand why she did, but as long as she did it because were good friends, then that's fine with me!"

Then Naruto held his hands out in front of him, as if he was about to bow to Iruka. "Um...Sensei could I...could I wear that hitai-ate you're wearing? Please?" he asked in the sweetest way he could.

"What?" Iruka asked, holding his headband. "No way. You can only wear it if you pass the exam. This thing marks you as a full fledged ninja and you wont get one until you graduate! Is that why you took off your goggles?"

There was a slight hesitation until Naruto slammed his hand onto the counter.

"More ramen please!"

**~*The Next Morning*~**

Hikari walked into the classroom, eyeing all the nervous faces.

_Clones should be easy for such a talented group, though. Such worry...it's so cute, _she thought with a smile. Her eyes fell on her blond haired friend, who looked worried the most. _Ah, that's right...he's not good with clones._

"For your final exam, you have to create three clones each. So just wait here until your name is called and then come next door," Iruka explained, then walked out to the room next door. He patted Hikari on the shoulder as he walked by his student.

Hikari gave him a soft smile and walked towards Naruto, patting him on the back.

"I'm sure you'll do great, Naruto!" encouraged Hikari. She gave him her best smile. "You ARE going to be Hokage, aren't you?"

"Y-...Yeah! Hell yeah!" Naruto exclaimed, feeling a tad at ease.

_Amazing what a little bit of encouragement does for him..._mused Hikari. She dug into her back pouch, pulling out a small bento box. Small balls of rice were revealed as she opened it. A sweet aroma emitted fro the small box, causing Naruto's mouth to water.

"I bet you had ramen and rotten milk this morning, didn't you?" Hikari asked with a questioning look, eyeing her friend.

"...no," replied Naruto. Hikari rolled her eyes and handed him a pair of chopsticks.

"Help yourself. It'll help calm you down."

Naruto flashed Hikari a bright smile and gratefully ate the simple meal, savouring each and every bite.

"Hikari-chan! You're such a great cook!" he exclaimed. Hikari smiled and pat his head, then looked up as her name was called.

"I'll be right back, Naruto." She stood and made her way out of the room.

A few minutes later, Hikari came back and plopped herself down next to Naruto, smiling, a hitai-ate shining around her waist. Naruto looked at her, wide-eyed.

"You passed!" he exclaimed. Hikari nodded. Then grew a stern look on her face.

"Uzumaki Naruto," she said in a mocking serious voice. "You had better pass or I'm killing you." Naruto smiled, then looked up as he heard his name being called. He stood and flashed a nervous smile at Hikari, who gave him thumbs up and a wink. He walked out of the classroom and into the hallway.

_I hope he passes,_ Hikari thought.

**~*After the Tests*~**

"Congratulations, graduate!"

"Let's go home and I'll cook a feast!"

"You're finally a full-fledged ninja, son. I'll teach you everything I know."

Hikari leaned against a wall, smiling at the other graduates as she scanned the crowd for Naruto.

_Must be nice having parents_, she thought. Her gaze continued to scan the crowd until she finally spotted a splash of yellow hair and ran to it finding Naruto perched on a swing. He was slowly swinging back and forth on it, a look of despair apparent on his face. Hikari opened her mouth to shout his name but someone blocked her view of Naruto. She quickly maneuvered around them to try and get closer to her friend...but he wasn't there anymore.

_He probably didn't pass..._

Her kunzite was shining a more of a purplish color, reflecting her feelings.

_I hope he's okay_.

The young girl slowly trudged back to her herb shop, and unlocked the door flipping on the light switch as she took a step in. A gasp emitted from her mouth as she took in the sight before her. The entire shop was decorated with colorful ribbons. Someone had watered all the plants, wiped down the wooden floor, making it shine, and a big banner was hung on the top that said _Congratulations, graduate!_

"Oh my god", she breathed. "Who would do this...for me?"

She eyed something at her desk and gasped again, her hands flying to her mouth. There, propped up on the desk, was a picture framed in silver with a black border, of her parents and her when she was only around a month old. Hikari picked up the picture and lovingly touched the glass that separated the picture from the outside world.

Tears had formed in her eyes as she finally saw what her parents looked like. Her mother had beautiful brown hair, a shade darker than her own, and purplish eyes. She was smiling in the picture and her hitai-ate was around her neck.

Her father's hair was a very light shade of brown, an almost golden brown and blue eyes that were sparkling in the picture. He looked as if he was laughing. And in the middle, between the two adults, was a baby with chestnut peach fuzz as hair, and purplish-blue eyes. Around her neck was a kunzite, just like the one Hikari was wearing now.

_That's me... _Hikari thought.

The younger version of Hikari was smiling and it looked like she was clapping or something of the sort. Hikari wiped the tears from her eyes and smiled at what she looked at. She glanced at her desk once more and saw a plant, one that she knew she didn't own, and under it, was a card. Hikari gently propped the picture back up on the desk and removed the pot from the card and picked the card up. It was white with silver lace around it. On it, was a picture of her in her current age, smiling, while making the peace sign . In big golden letters was written:

_Congratulations, Hikari-chan!_ Hikari opened the card and immediately knew who had done this for her. She began reading, a smile playing at her lips.

_Dear Hikari-chan,_

_So...do you like your present? I hope so. Congratulations on graduating! I hope I graduate also. I did this all after you left the shop last night. I had to steal your keys. You're a very light sleeper by the way, if you don't remember that you kept waking up in your sleep for no apparent reason. This plant is the rare herb you've wanted for so long. Man was it a pain to get! I was tending it in my own house just for today. Be careful with it! It's very fragile and delicate (I wonder if that's how you spell that). Your picture was also a pain to get. Gramps had it after I asked him. Oh and, in case you're wondering how I knew you were going to graduate...I just kind of guessed. Anyways, see you later!_

_Naruto Uzumaki_

Hikari looked at the fresh looking plant and gently caressed its leaves.

_I've got to go thank him_, she thought, and ran out of her shop. Hikari locked the door before she left and ran off in hopes of finding Naruto.

**~*Later That Evening...*~**

Night fell, and Hikari was still searching for Naruto. The only placed she hadn't searched was the Uchiha compound, which is where she's headed now. On her way there, she heard something and stopped. Then quickly turned around and saw Sasuke there, staring at her. She bowed.

"Konban wa, Sasuke-san," she greeted. He rose an eyebrow at her.

"Why are you around here?" he asked.

"I'm looking for Naruto," she answered. "You haven't seen him, have you?"

"No," Sasuke answered coldly. "This is private property, which means you shouldn't be trespassing here."

Hikari hid her shock well and bowed again.

"Gomenasai," she apologized. "I'll go now. And congrats on graduating, Sasuke-san."

Hikari walked off in search of Naruto again.

_Ai...where is he..._she thought. Moments later, she heard yelling and ran to it, only to stop and hide under some foliage as she saw Naruto, Iruka, and Mizuki. She quietly analyzed the situation before her. Iruka was propped up against a tree and wounded, while Mizuki was yelling at Naruto, who held a giant scroll next to him.

"Don't you dare lay a hand on my sensei," Naruto began. "Or I'll kill you!"

Mizuki began laughing.

"Idiot! Run away!" exclaimed Iruka.

"Brat!" cackled Mizuki. "I can kill you with one blow!"

Naruto then preformed the kata of something unknown to Hikari, and yelled, "Bring it on! I could retaliate anything you give me one-thousand fold!"

"I'd like to see you try!" Mizuki yelled. Hikari had the sudden urge to jump up and help Naruto but she kept her place. _This will be interesting..._

"**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!****" yelled Naruto. Amazement filled Hikari as one thousand flesh-and-blood clones of Naruto began to appear. A smile played at her lips as she watched.

_Naruto will definitely pass._

"What? How-" Mizuki began, but stopped as he fell backwards onto the ground.

"Well," said one Naruto. "If you won't come to us, we'll come to you!"

Hikari's eyes widened slightly as all one-thousand clones attacked Mizuki at once and laughed as she heard Mizuki cry out in pain. When all the clones vanished, Hikari stifled her laugh and eyed the terribly injured Mizuki.

_He'll be going to jail,_ she thought, then preformed one-handed katas and whispered something. She bit her thumb drawing a little blood and smudged it on the palm of her hand before slamming that hand flat against the ground while yelling, "**Kuchiyose no Jutsu!*****"

A bright red bird appeared and flew off, knowing that it had to get the hokage. Hikari smiled in satisfaction and watched with an even bigger smile as Iruka took off his own headband and tied it around Naruto's head.

_I must go now_, she thought. _It's probably way past midnight and Im going to need to get some sleep for school._ Hikari slowly and quietly stood from her hiding spot and walked home. A certain tune, something she immediately recognized, started playing over and over in her head. A soft smile flitted across her lips as she hummed to the tune.

_Over the horizon where the young children play~ brings hope and wonder to the next day...~_

**~*The Next Morning*~**

Hikari woke up exactly on time and took a shower, dressed herself, dried her hair, tied her hitai-ate around her waist, and ran out with breakfast in her mouth. She was the second one in the classroom, the first one being Sasuke, who's always there first.

"Ohayo," she greeted with a smile. Sasuke just glanced her way and then continued to stare up the front. She sighed briefly and rolled her eyes.

_Always a man of many words..._she mused.

Hikari took a seat that was just two spaces away from him, and watched as the classroom slowly filled up with students. She finally saw a blur of yellow amongst the students and got up out of her chair with full intent of gathering the person in her arms.

"You passed!" she exclaimed. She felt Naruto's arms wrap themselves around her and push her away, gently.

"Yup!" he beamed. He followed Hikari to her seat and sat next to her, putting his head down on the desk with a foolish grin.

"Naruto! What are you doing here?" asked a boy. Hikari glanced his way and laughed at his expression.

"Well, what do you think! I passed!" Naruto answered. Hikari then turned around as she heard footsteps approach her.

"Ohayo, Sakura-chan!" Hikari greeted. Sakura smiled then glared at Naruto.

"Excuse me!" she said. "May I pass?"

Naruto turned around and blushed.

Hikari caught the blush and smiled. _He's always had that huge crush on her._

"Move, Naruto! I'm trying to get to Sasuke-kun!" Sakura said impatiently. Naruto looked crestfallen and turned towards his rival with a glare.

_Grrr_, he thought. _I hate him! He thinks he's all that!_

Sasuke finally noticed Naruto glaring at him, and cracked his knuckles.

"You want something?" he asked threateningly. Naruto finally hit his limit and stood up.

"What's that supposed to mean? Are you talking to me?" Naruto yelled.

"Naruto," Hikari called softly. Naruto was suddenly bent forwards with a surprised look as Sakura jumped on his back with a smile.

"Ohayo, Sasuke-kun! Is that seat taken? No? Then I'll take it!" she said, then sat in the seat next to him and blushed. Hikari rolled her eyes and looked at Naruto, who suddenly squatted in front of Sasuke, a glare on his face. Sasuke glared back, of course, and Sakura went ballistic.

"Naruto! Leave Sasuke-kun alone!" she yelled furiously. All the other girls agreed with her and started yelling at Naruto.

Everything went quiet as the kid in the front leaned back and bumped into Naruto, causing his lips to meet Sasuke's. Hikari blinked, and began laughing, tears rolling down her cheeks. Sasuke and Naruto finally pulled apart, registering what had just happened and each held their own throats as they tried to spit out their own saliva.

Hikari sat up and wiped the tears from her eyes, suddenly feeling bloodlust. She turned and looked at every single girl that stood behind her with the look of death in their eyes.

_Oh crap_, she thought. Naruto thought the same thing as he looked, then began speaking as Sakura cracked her knuckles.

"Naruto," she growled.

"S-Sakura-chan!" he stuttered. "I didn't mean to! I swear!"

"You're SO...annoying!" Sakura yelled as she and the other girls pummeled Naruto, with Hikari jumping in the seat next to Sasuke, leaning back against him trying to avoid the girls. He caught her with surprise, a hand on her shoulder, and a hand where the base of her neck met her collar. The Uchiha just held her there as Naruto was getting beat up, acutely aware of the body leaning against him, and the soft skin underneath his fingers. Hikari quickly sat in her own seat at the sound of a door sliding open.

"From this day on, you are no longer..." Iruka began as he stood at the front of the classroom, but Hikari didn't listen as she took out a small container, not much bigger then her eye, and opened it up. It let out a sweet aroma and she rubbed some on her finger, then on the bruises and cuts on Naruto's face.

"This might sting," she whispered. "But it'll heal your face much quicker."

_Not that you'll need it, huh..._she thought.

He nodded and winced when she rubbed on the medicine.

"I made it from many herbs with a little bit of sweet pea petals, making it smell good," she said, then rubbed some more on her finger and onto Naruto's face. She continued doing this until Iruka called her name.

"Team 7. Miko, Hikari. Uzumaki, Naruto."

Both she and Naruto smiled at each other.

"Haruno, Sakura..."

Sakura hung her head in despair as Naruto suddenly leapt out of his seat in joy.

"...and Uchiha, Sasuke..."

This time, Naruto hung his head and Sakura jumped up for joy. An amused look was apparent on Hikari's face as she watched the contrast and transition of emotions between her new teammates.

"But sensei wait," Sakura said. "You said that we'd only have three man teams. With Hikari, it's four."

"I know," Iruka said simply. "We had an even number of students pass so she balanced out your team."

"But...why do I have to be stuck with this loser!" Naruto asked, pointing at Sasuke. Iruka sighed.

"Well, Naruto, you had the lowest scores while Sasuke had the highest. Sakura, while not very skilled in taijutsu, is the smartest. Hikari excels in taijutsu so she balances Sakura out. That's why you ended up with you who ended up with. It's all about balancing out each team." Sasuke glanced at Naruto then back towards the front.

"Just don't slow me down...idiot," he said.

"What did you just call me?" Naruto yelled.

"Naruto! Leave Sasuke-kun alone!" Sakura said for the second time that day.

_They'll work it out_, Iruka thought. _Besides, Hikari's gentle nature will help cool things down._

"Okay, everyone. I'll introduce you to your new sensei this afternoon after lunch. I advise you to sit and eat lunch with your classmates to get to know them. Dismissed!"

Hikari watched as her classmates filed out of the classroom in groups of three then watched in slight befuddlement as her teammates all went into different directions.

_...interesting team._

**~*During Lunch*~**

Hikari had finished her lunch and walked around, trying to find her teammates. She saw Naruto sidling on the side of a building trying to reach an open window and jumped up onto the roof to follow her teammate. Naruto signaled her to be quiet with a finger to his lips. She turned her head to look around for a great place to watch and found a balcony that overlooked the scene.

On it was Team 10, all of whom were watching what Naruto was going to do. She quietly jumped onto it and watched, then almost fell off as she saw Sasuke sitting against the window sill, his back to the outside and his unknown demise, eating his lunch.

_Naruto_, she thought. _Just be careful..._

Hikari then noticed the rope in his hands, and smiled silently.

"What do you think Naruto is doing?" Ino asked angrily. Hikari turned around and shushed her. Ino crossed her arms and watched Naruto also. Her teammates, Choji and Shikamaru, watched with her too. Naruto suddenly swung the rope around Sasuke, and tackled him into the classroom, the window shutting behind them. Inside, Hikari and Team 10 could here bangs and crashes. Then everything went quiet.

_I wonder..._ Hikari thought. Then blinked in surprise as she saw Sasuke come out with a smirk on his face.

"Fool..." he said to no one then ran off. Beside her, she could hear Ino scoff in a satisfied way and then bit her lip as Ino began talking.

"I knew Naruto couldn't handle Sasuke-kun," she sneered. "Sasuke-kun's just too tough for him." Hikari turned.

"I don't think that was the real Sasuke-san," she said slowly, as if talking to a child. "Hold on..."

Hikari jumped off of the railing and landed in front of the open window. She walked through and found the real Sasuke laying on the floor on his stomach, his hands bound behind his back, with his feet tied together, and tape over his mouth. He looked towards Hikari, who smiled.

"Would you like some help?" she asked gently. Sasuke merely looked away with a faint blush on his cheeks from embarrassment. Hikari let out a soft chuckle and placed her hand on the tape on his lips.

"This might hurt a little but bear with me," she advised, then quickly tore the tape off of his mouth. He merely flinched as the tape stung, then sat up. Hikari crawled behind him and began to unbind his hands.

"That wasn't fair, was it?" Hikari asked. "But Sasuke-san. A ninja shouldn't let his guard down," she added teasingly.

She stood, letting the ropes fall from his hands. Sasuke stood with her, rubbing his wrists, then left without saying so much as a thank you.

"You're welcome," Hikari said to nothing, then came out of the window, waving to Team 10. "I was right," she said. "The first Sasuke-san you saw wasn't the real Sasuke-san. It was Naruto." Then she left, smiling as she heard the gasp from Ino right before she ran off.

_Naruto_, she thought._ Where are you? I need to tell-_

Hikari quickly skidded to a stop as she saw Sasuke and Sakura standing in front of her, with Sakura looking more than just happy. _Is that Sasuke-san or Naruto looking like Sasuke-san?_

"Sasuke-kun! My sweet, shy man! Are you as emotionally prepared as I am!" she exclaimed, oblivious to Hikari, who just blinked.

"Where's Naruto?" said Sasuke.

_That's definitely the real Sasuke-san_, Hikari thought. Sakura looked a little taken aback. Then quickly recovered.

"Why are you talking about Naruto again?" she asked. "Can't we just not talk about him for just one second? He always comes between us!"

Hikari covered her mouth as those words registered in her head.

_I have a bad feeling that Naruto-kun did something he wasn't supposed to do_, she thought. Sasuke began walking on.

"And it's all because he has no parents," continued Sakura. Hikari blinked as the words registered in her mind, feeling something else other than shock stir inside of her. Sasuke stopped in his tracks and turned halfway. "He doesn't have to take orders from anyone! And it's made him completely selfish! If I did even one thing that he has done, my parents would ground me for life! I just wish that I could be left alone with no parents all the time. I'd be able to do anything I want!"

Hikari's fists clenched as anger coursed through her veins. She opened her mouth to say something but closed it as Sasuke shot her a look that seemed to say 'I'll deal with her.' A slight breeze blew as everyone was silent, and finally, he spoke.

"You don't know its like to be alone," Sasuke said.

"What?" Sakura asked, completely clueless about what he said.

"Being scolded and reprimanded by your parents doesn't even compare to being lonely," he continued.

"Sasuke-kun...what..." Sakura began. "What's with you all of a sudden...?"

Sasuke then turned and looked Sakura fully in the eye.

"You're annoying," He finally said after glancing at Hikari, who found a new hatred for Sakura. _Stop it, Hikari...the ignorant must be educated..._

Sakura's face fell, and Hikari was actually happy to see it. She walked away in the opposite direction Sasuke had walked in, remembering her childhood with Sasuke. How she used to reside with the Uchiha's until Itachi did what he did. How Itachi and Sasuke had helped her run the herb shop. Sasuke was the other owner but he only came around to buy things.

_Thank you, Sasuke-san_, she silently thanked.

**~*In the Classroom*~**

"Hmmm," Naruto said as he peeked out of the door for what seemed like the millionth time in the past five minutes.

"Naruto! Cut it out!" Sakura reprimanded.

"I can't!" whined Naruto. "How come we are the only team whose teacher hasn't come yet? Even Iruka-sensei has gone."

He got a chair and a chalkboard eraser, set the chair up in front of door, and cracked the door open a little bit. He then wedged the eraser in between the space he had opened up and smiled mischievously. Hikari was laying her head down on the desk and only looked up because Sakura was scolding Naruto again.

"Naruto! What are you up to?" she asked. Naruto jumped down and replaced the chair.

"Well...it's what he gets for not coming on time," he answered.

"Well...then I want no part of it," said Sakura. Her inner Sakura came out with a smile. _Oh yeah!_ She said._Stuff like this is the best!_

Hikari heard Sasuke scoff slightly and looked his way.

"No way would a jounin get caught by a simple trap like that," he said with a smirk. But he spoke too soon for as soon as he said it, a hand appeared on the door and opened it, with a silver headed man with a mask covering his lower half of his face and his headband covering his left eye, the eraser dropping with a thump on his head. Naruto began laughing and Hikari just blinked, then sighed.

_It's Kakashi_, she thought. _I can't believe it's Kakashi._

"Ha! You fell for my trap!" Naruto laughed. Sakura looked worried.

"Oh, I'm sorry, sensei," she said, apologetically. "I tried to stop him but..." Her Inner Sakura came back out with two thumbs up. _Oh yeah! _It yelled. _Set him up and knock him down and get him in trouble! That was awesome! Cha!_

Sasuke sweatdropped.

_So_, he thought. _This is our elite shinobi leader? He looks and acts like a fool._

Kakashi suddenly smiled and put his hand to his chin.

"Hm," he said. "My first impression is...I hate you all." Everyone sweatdropped as everything fell to silence.

Team 7 had assembled on the roof. Sasuke was sitting on the top step with Naruto and Sakura sitting on the second step. Naruto to Sasuke's left, and Sakura to the right. On the right of Sakura, was Hikari on the top step, her legs drawn up to her chest.

"Okay," Kakashi began. "Now, if you're going to be my students, then I'm going to have to know everything about you. You know, tell me a little bit about yourselves."

"Like what?" Sakura asked.

"Like..." Kakashi thought for a moment. "Like...you know. The usual. Your favorite foods, your hobbies, your name, your dream, your likes and dislikes. You know, things like that."

"Well," Naruto began slowly. "Why don't you go first?"

"Yeah, sensei," Sakura cut in. "Since you are our teacher..."

"Okay," said Kakashi. "My name is Hatake, Kakashi. I don't really feel like talking about my likes and dislikes. I don't have a dream at the moment. And I really don't have any hobbies."

"Well, he said a lot," Sakura whispered sarcastically.

"All right," said Kakashi, then pointed towards Naruto. "Now it's your turn, starting with you to the right of me."

Naruto's left hand went to his headband and began adjusting it on his forehead.

"My name is Uzumaki, Naruto," he began. "I like instant cup ramen, and I love it when Iruka-sensei treats me to ramen at the Ichiraku ramen bar. I hate the three minute wait for the ramen to get soft after I pour in the water."

_And it looks like that all he has on his mind is ramen...strange_, Kakashi thought.

"And my dream is to," Naruto continued. "One day, I'll be a better hokage than all the others that came before me. And then, all the villagers will have to respect me at last! My hobbies are...pranks, practical jokes, and tending to plants. Just yesterday, I gave Hikari-chan a rare herb to help her herb shop."

_He came out interesting_, Kakashi thought, then looked towards Hikari. _That's the store owner and the one Iruka's been boasting about._

"All right then," he said. "Next."

"My name is Uchiha Sasuke," he began darkly. "There are plenty of things I hate which don't seem to matter considering there are not a lot of things I like. I don't have any dreams. No, dreams is just a word. What I do have is...ambition. My ambition is to restore my clan, and kill someone that I swore that I would kill once I'm strong enough."

Hikari recalled what had happened to Sasuke's clan and sighed. Naruto sweatdropped.

_I seriously hope that the person Sasuke wants to kill isn't me_, he thought nervously.

_I suspected that much_, Kakashi thought grimly.

"Okay then," he said. "Next. The girl with the pink hair."

"I am Haruno Sakura. My favorite thing is well, it isn't an object or anything like that...it's a person..." she trailed off, blushed then looked at Sasuke who didnt pay any attention to her. "Any...ways...umm my dream is to..." she trailed off again and blushed, yet again. Hikari merely smiled and chuckled. "Um...let's move on. My hobbies are..." she blushed again. Hikari shook her head and sighed.

"...okay," said Kakashi. "Well...what do you hate?"

Sakura suddenly got a nasty look on her face and said one word, "Naruto!"

Naruto gulped and sighed.

_It seems like young girls such as Sakura care more about love than ninjutsu and their lives_, Kakashi thought with a sigh.

"Alright," he said. "The young lady at the end."

"Well," Hikari began slowly. "My name is Miko, Hikari. I like Konohagakure and I have a lot of friends. I hate...well...I hate a lot of things but I don't feel like naming them. My dream...hmmm...tough call. My dream is to become an excellent kunoichi like Tsunade-sama, and...my hobbies are...to...take care of plants and relax at the hot springs. That's it!" she finished with a gentle smile.

Kakashi looked at Hikari in a strange way.

_She's every bit like her mother,_ he thought, closing his eyes. Then after a moment's wait, he opened them and looked at the four sitting in front of him.

"Now, I think that we all understand each other," he began slowly. "Training will start tomorrow." Naruto did a salute.

"Yes!" he exclaimed. "So? What will be our first mission as a shinobi?"

"Our first mission involves only us," Kakashi answered. Naruto looked at him strangely.

"What?" he questioned.

"Survival exercises," Kakashi explained.

"Survival exercises?" Naruto echoed.

"Why...and how would that be a mission?" Sakura asked. "When we were back in the academy, we were constantly taught survival exercises."

Hikari finally got what was going on.

_Oh no_, she thought.

"This won't be your...ordinary survival exercise," Kakashi said thoughtfully, carefully choosing his words. "You're going to have to survive against me."

"What kind?" Naruto began. Hikari looked at her other teammates who all drew blank faces as Kakashi began laughing. She hung her head in despair.

_...you asshat..._

"What are you laughing about, Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked in a flat tone, slightly offended that he began laughing.

"Oh...nothing," Kakashi said carelessly. This made the hair on the back of Hikari's neck stand up on end.

_He's got something really bad planned for us,_ she thought.

"If I told you," he continued. "Then you would freak out."

"Freak out?" Naruto echoed. "But...why?"

Kakashi suddenly got a serious face on and glared at everyone in front of him. "Of the twenty-eight students of your graduating class, only nine...or ten, depending will actually be accepted as a true shinobi. The other eighteen must go back for more training. The test we are about to perform has a 66% rate of failure."

Naruto and Sakura's mouths fell open in surprise, Sasuke merely got a grave look in his eye, and Hikari sighed.

_I knew it_, she thought glumly.

"See!" Kakashi said and began laughing again."You guys are freaking out already!"

Naruto stood up in anger.

"That's so stupid! We have been through hell just to get to this spot! What happened to our graduation test?"

"Oh...we wanted to eliminate all the hopeless cases from your ranks," Kakashi answered calmly. "The ones who are left are the only students who show a...somewhat promising picture."

"Nani?" Naruto screamed.

"Anyways," Kakashi continued. "We'll meet tomorrow morning on the practice field so that I can summarize your skills and weaknesses. Bring everything...and don't eat breakfast unless you want to see it again."

Kakashi got up off of the railing and walked to them with four sheets of paper in hand. Hikari could see Naruto tremble from the corner of her eyes.

_No way am I going to lose,_ he thought_. I'll kick his butt and get some respect from him!_

Hikari was then hit lightly on the head with something and looked up to see Kakashi tapping her head with a sheet of paper, kanji written all over it.

"Hello?" he teased. "Anyone in there?"

Hikari smiled and took the paper, sighing as she read it.

"These are the details of your assignment. Read it, and memorize it but don't be late!"

Later after the meeting with their teacher, Hikari walked with Naruto to her herb shop and hugged him at the doorstep. He seemed quite surprised and hugged back, though not knowing why.

"Um...Hikari-chan?" he called. "Why are you hugging me?" Hikari pulled back with a smile on her face.

"For the plant and the decorations...thank you so much, Naruto!"

"Aw," Naruto blushed slightly, scuffing his foot on the ground. "It was nothing. Just something to make you feel more...I don't know...at home, I guess?"

Hikari opened the door and unlocked it, then walked in with Naruto.

"Could you help me water them, please?" she asked, and closed the door. Naruto did as he was told, grabbing a watering can and watered the plants after shutting the door. Hikari went to the back and began grounding some of the leaves into a fine powder for her next customer. Naruto walked to the back room after he had watered all the plants and watched.

"Why are you doing that?" he asked.

"It's an herbal tea remedy for the headaches and toothaches," Hikari explained, not looking up to Naruto. "Mix jasmine with rose petals, then some of the mint herb and then you have the remedy. Rose petals and jasmine just make it slightly bitter, but otherwise, pretty good."

"I see," Naruto lied. "Can I try?"

Hikari stood and offered her seat.

"Sure," she answered. "Just dont mix anything in it otherwise you'll ruin the mix."

She swung her head to the open door as she heard the chime of the door being opened. "Oh!" she breathed. "A customer!" She quickly ran out with a smile.

"Hello sir-Sasuke-san!" Naruto's head shot up as he heard the name and ignored it. "Sasuke-san, what are you doing here?" she asked.

"I need a remedy for a headache," Sasuke answered. Then looked around. "You've changed the place."

"The decorations weren't my doing," Hikari answered. "Naruto-kun did it for me."

"Naruto?" Sasuke asked, shocked to hear his rival do something like that. "You let him?"

"He did it of his own accord. Anyways, your remedy will be out in a moment. I was just working on the mix and Naruto-kun is-"

"Naruto is here?"

"Yes." Hikari quickly walked back to find that Naruto had ground the leaves into a very fine powder, with his teeth gritted and his eyes narrowed. She gasped.

"Oh, Naruto!" she breathed. Sasuke heard and proceeded to the backroom.

"Sasuke-san! Ah...nevermind..." she finished quietly. Naruto glared at Sasuke who glared back. Hikari plugged the bottle with a cork.

"Here," she said as she handed the green powder to him. "Just put a spoonful in boiling water and drink it," she explained with a smile. "Your headache will be gone after that. The price is for you to decide...though you may take it if you'd like."

"But Hikari-chan," Naruto protested. "He cant just take it! Don't you need the money for your rent?"

"It's fine," Hikari answered quietly. Then flashed her best smile at him. "I'll manage. Oh...he's gone..."

She turned back to Sasuke, only to find that spot empty. She walked back out and blinked as she saw money on the table. Her gaze shifted to the door as she heard her bell chime again. She saw Sasuke out the window, walking away.

"Thank you, Sasuke-san," she whispered, counting the money. Just enough to pay for her rent. Naruto came out, and eyed the money. He crossed his arms in a defiant way as Hikari ruffled his spiky hair.

-*Author's Notes*-

**Henge*** = Transform

**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu** = **Shadow Clone Jutsu

**Kuchiyose no Jutsu***** = Summoning Jutsu


	2. Survival Exercise!

"You know," she began. "You guys don't always have to come so early. Even Kakashi-sensei's not here this early."

"Well, what if he was here and we screwed up?" Naruto asked an irritated tone in his voice though he tried to conceal it. Hikari shrugged.

"He's not here, though, is he," she said with a wink. Naruto let out an exasperated sigh and sat down. "Did you guys eat?"

"Of course we didn't," Sakura snapped. "You heard what Kakashi-sensei said. No eating unless we want to throw up."

Hikari thought for a moment.

"Mmm..." she said. "He doesn't really mean that...at least, I hope not. I've eaten breakfast and I figured you guys wouldn't eat so...want any?" Hikari dug her hand into her backpack and pulled out a small bento box. She opened the lid to reveal five small rice cakes inside of it.

"I reinforced it with special herbs to give you extra energy and stamina. Completely homemade", she held out the food with a grin. Naruto, Sakura, and even Sasuke eyed it as if they were about to take her offer, but Hikari then concealed the food quickly. A strange feeling filled the air

"Morning, everyone," Kakashi greeted. Hikari turned and looked up, finding Kakashi perched on the red gate. Naruto and Sakura immediately sprang up and pointed an accusing finger at him.

"YOU'RE LATE!" they screamed. Hikari smiled with a sweatdrop.

_Today will be an interesting day..._

Kakashi had led them to a place that had three wooden stakes in the ground, a timer on the middle one. He placed his hand on the top and a ping emitted from the clock.

"I've set this alarm to go off at noon," he began. "I have in my hand, two small bells. Your mission is to get it from me before the timer sounds."

Kakashi indeed had two small silver bells that hung on red strings in his hand, and placed them on his belt.

"Anyone who fails to do so doesn't get any lunch," he continued. "Instead, you will be tied to that tree stump so I can eat your lunch in front of you."

Everyone's mouths dropped, except for Hikari who had taken care to eat her breakfast. She laughed as their stomachs growled.

"So, that's why you wanted us to go without breakfast!" Naruto complained. Hikari gave them all an_ I-told-you-so _look.

"All you need is just one bell a piece," he said. "But since only two bells exist and there are four of you, two of you are definitely going to be tied to the stump. And whoever that is...will be the first of you guys to fail. Two of you are already headed back to school...and to disgrace.

"You may, if you choose, to use any weapon that you've got. And you must attack as though you mean to kill me or you won't stand a chance."

"But...that's so dangerous!" Sakura exclaimed.

"You couldn't even dodge an eraser," Naruto laughed, immediately at ease. "You're gonna get killed!"

"Only the weak speak loudly, idiot," Kakashi said with a sigh.

Idiot echoed in Naruto's head, causing anger to rise within him. He suddenly took out a kunai, twirled it on his finger, and ran at Kakashi. Hikari heard Sakura gasp and saw Sasuke tense up but she just shook her head.

_That won't work, Naruto-kun..._she thought.

In the blink of an eye, Kakashi was behind Naruto with Naruto's own arm holding the weapon pointed at the back of his own throat.

Kakashi seemed to smile judging by the look in his visible eye and the movement underneath his mask.

"Wait a minute...I didn't even say go yet," Kakashi said, still smiling. "But at least you struck as if you were going to kill. It seems that you all have begun to respect me. Maybe...just maybe, I'm beginning to like you four. Time for the test to start. Ready...set...GO!"

All genin disappeared, jumping into four different directions. Kakashi counted to five before he began turning around and around, searching for his students.

_In a shinobi's life, you must eradicate anything you've left behind, _he thought as he finally stopped turning and looked straight ahead where Hikari was hiding. Hikari gulped and quietly moved back, deeper into the forest and stood, sweat beginning to form on her forehead. Fortunately, the teacher didn't seem to notice his student.

_All of them hid well..._

"It's time to fight me, Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto yelled from behind him. Kakashi spun around and looked at Naruto strangely. Hikari took the chance and chose a different hiding spot.

_You baka..._she thought as she hid in a tree, using the leaves to conceal her figure.

"Let's make this a fair match and let the best, blond-haired boy win!" Naruto continued loudly.

"You may be thinking of the wrong match, Naruto," Kakashi sighed.

Naruto ran at Kakashi with full force with a kunai in his hand, his eyes full of contempt.

_That fool_, Sasuke thought.

"The only wrong thing here is your hair!" Naruto yelled then skidded to a stop just a few feet from Kakashi as he watched his sensei dig in his pouch for something.

"I'm going to teach you your first skill," Kakashi began, still digging in his pouch for something. "Taijutsu, the art of hand-to-hand combat."

Hikari blinked; a questioning look upon her face. Realization hit her and she sighed.

_Wait_, Naruto thought. _Taijutsu...hand-to-hand combat...then why is he...?_

He gasped as he saw his teacher pull out an orange book that read Ichi Ichi Paradise on the front. Hikari smacked her forehead.

_I knew it, I knew it, I knew it_, she thought. _I knew he brought that book! That cursed, perverted book!_

Naruto drew a blank face and just stared at Kakashi. Kakashi noticed and spoke.

"...what's wrong? I thought you were about to attack."

"But..." Naruto began. "That...I-I mean...why are you...but that's a book!"

"Of course it's a book. I've known that for quite some time. Besides, I've been dying to find out how this story would end...so...go on. This shouldn't make a difference of the outcome, considering who I'm up against."

Naruto became even angrier than before and started running at his sensei again, his sleeved pulled up.

"I'm going to pulverize you!" Naruto exclaimed, then jumped and aimed a punch at Kakashi, who blocked the punch without even looking away from that book. Naruto then shifted his position and aimed a kick for his teacher's head, who ducked, still reading the book. Naruto landed on the ground with one foot and stepped forward.

"This is it! I'm going to punch-" but he was cut off as his teacher was suddenly behind him.

"Stop showing your back to your enemy, idiot," Kakashi explained as he made the kata of tiger. Hikari's eyes widened slightly as she took in the scene. _He wouldn't_, she thought. _He's too soft to do that._

_He's making the sign of the tiger_, Sasuke thought. _Impossible. That's a sign to use the flames known mostly to the Uchiha clan. That teacher wasn't just fooling around._

_That's impossible! He can't! It's too advanced a technique to use against Naruto! He has no chance!_ Sakura thought frantically.

"Naruto! Get away from Kakashi-sensei! You're going to be killed!" yelled Sakura. Hikari almost fell off the branch she rested on and quickly jumped to a different one.

Naruto's head swiveled around to see where the voice came from only to miss Sakura as she hid back under the foliage. A clueless look apparent on his face.

"Too late," Kakashi said and proceeded to shove his fingers up Naruto's butt. "Konohagakure's secret jutsu! **Sennen Goroshi***!"

Naruto went flying and landed into the river. Hikari smacked her forehead again.

_You still have all of your stupid tricks, Kakashi_, she said silently. Sakura sweatdropped and made a face.

_That's a secret jutsu? It looks more like shoving your fingers up Naruto's butt_, she thought. Sasuke sweat dropped and sighed.

_They're both idiots..._he thought. Underneath the water, Naruto took out two shuriken and through them towards his sensei, who caught it on his fingers, chuckling at his book.

"Nooooooo!" yelled Naruto from underneath the water. He then performed the hands of his jutsu.

_I will not go back!_ he thought and created clones under the water. Then he jumped up and landed on the grounded, gasping for air and coughing. Kakashi noticed him and spoke.

"Well? Is that it? You know that if you don't get these bells by lunch, you'll have nothing to eat!"

"I know that!" Naruto retorted, still on the ground.

"You say that you want to surpass all of the hokage that came before you but you're already out of energy," Kakashi pressed, still reading his book.

"I know, dammit! I can fight no matter how hungry I am!"

Hikari heard a strange gurgling noise from somewhere around her and chuckled. She quietly jumped onto the branch Sasuke stood on and took out her bento box, opened it and took out a rice ball, then prodded Sasuke's back with the other hand holding the box. Sasuke jumped and swiveled his head around, glaring at Hikari. He blinked as he saw Hikari offering him some food.

"Here," she whispered. "Take it. Like I said earlier. You won't throw up. Trust me. And it's really good."

Sasuke took the food and hesitantly bit into it. He immediately felt energy coursing through him as he swallowed and ate the whole thing. Hikari smiled as she watched him.

"Good?" she asked. He nodded.

"Well, I'm going to go feed Sakura. Knowing her...she probably didn't eat anything last night either." Hikari jumped down and ran off to where Sakura was hiding. Indeed, she heard a strange noise and crouched down below the foliage and offered Sakura one.

"Don't worry," Hikari said in a reassuring voice. "It won't make you fat and it'll give you energy." Sakura ate the rice ball, flashing a smile of gratitude at Hikari and turned her attention to the battle. Hikari ate one herself and resolved to give one to Naruto and Kakashi later. She watched the match and saw something stir in the river behind Naruto.

_So that's what he's got in mind_, she thought. _Pretty ingenious_.

"I just wasn't ready, that's all!" Naruto roared.

"So...? Learn to be ready at all times, Naruto!" Kakashi replied, walking away from Naruto.

_Crap_, Naruto thought as he glared at his sensei's back. _I'm so hungry...and completely out of energy. But...I have to get a bell...no matter what! I have to earn his respect! NO MATTER WHAT!_

Suddenly, eight clones of Naruto appeared out of the water and charged at Kakashi. "Ha!" yelled Naruto. "Get ready! Now you're going to have to face more than one of me all thanks to my special jutsu!"

_One...two...three...eight real flesh-and-blood bodies_, Sasuke thought in amazement. _What jutsu is Naruto using?_

_They're not just illusions_, Sakura thought. _All of them are solid!_

Hikari eyed her teammates and watched their expressions. _Even Sasuke-san is impressed…_ she pondered, a light smile playing at her lips. She slid her gaze to her teacher and her smile disappeared, replaced with a slight scowl. _He knows what Naruto-kun is up to._

"Not illusions but actual bodies," Kakashi confirmed. _This is a jutsu from the forbidden scroll...it's the jutsu he used to send Mizuki to jail. Interesting._

"But...at your current level, you can't be strong enough to hold them up for more than a minute!" Kakashi said, still looking at his book. "You're all bark and no bite, Naruto. You're a one-trick animal who doesn't have what it takes to win."

Then suddenly, Kakashi felt something on his back and widened his eyes. "W-What?" he exclaimed. Hikari heard Sakura gasp beside her, and she sighed. "Heh-heh," Naruto laughed. "Nice to see your back...sensei! I isolated one of my clones and sent it out of the water posing as me. That's when the real me circled around, behind you! So...here's my revenge for what you did to my ass! Just one good hit! That's all I want!"

Naruto aimed a punch for Kakashi.

Hikari saw how impressed her teammates were and sighed lightly.

"Relax, Kakashi-sensei! I'm only going to hit you once!" Naruto aimed his punch...and swung as hard as he could...and gasped as he punched himself.

_Huh?_ he thought, utterly confused. Sasuke blinked, Hikari sighed, and Sakura drew a blank face as the clone that got punched began yelling in pain.

"You're Kakashi-sensei! You just transformed into me so you could fool us!" yelled one Naruto.

"Am not! You're Kakashi-sensei! You even smell like him...like an old man!"

"I do not!"

"Hey! Why don't we just drop the illusion? If we do, the only other one left is Kakashi."

"Hey! Why didn't you think of that sooner?"

"Because I'm you, idiot!"

Naruto dropped the jutsu...and just stood there as he was the only person left standing around.

_Poor Naruto-kun_, Hikari thought. Naruto then spotted something beside a tree and began walking to it.

"A bell!" he exclaimed. Hikari's eyes widened and she stood.

"Naruto-kun! It's a trap!"

But too late. Naruto reached for the bell and screamed as something caught his foot and pulled him up. Hikari quickly ran to a different place to hide and stood in a tree.

"Gah! No!" Naruto screamed.

_What's so troubling is...Kakashi didn't even let his guard down once_, Sasuke pondered as he watched the scene in front of him. _He was just playing around even during the fight with Naruto. Kakashi then appeared and picked up the bell._

"You had a good plan...but I had a better one," Kakashi said. "By the way, being caught in an obvious trap is stupid!"

Naruto glared.

"Shinobi read the hidden meaning within the hidden meanings!" Kakashi added with a note of happiness in his voice.

"I know, I know, I know!" Naruto yelled.

"Um...no, you don't. Why do you think that I'm telling you this? Just for my benefit?" Kakashi answered. Hikari heard the clinking of weapons and saw Sasuke take out many kunai and shuriken then threw them all at Kakashi. She gasped as every one of them hit their target, then sighed as Kakashi performed the substitution jutsu and disappeared. She had an eerie feeling of being watched and quickly ran away, going the opposite direction of Sasuke as Kakashi finally figured out where she and Sasuke were.

Sakura ran from her hiding place, looking for Sasuke. When Hikari thought Kakashi was gone, she walked out of her hiding place and over to Naruto. She smiled and he scowled.

"Need some help?" she asked. He nodded. Then she quickly took out a kunai and cut the rope. Naruto fell and screamed as he was immediately pulled back up. Hikari sighed and cut the rope again. She took out her bento box and held out a rice ball.

"Naruto-" she began.

"No time, Hikari-chan," Naruto cut her off, looking into the distance. "I've got to go get something."

"But Naruto-"

"See ya, Hikari-chan!" And he ran off. Hikari shrugged and put the rice ball back in her bento box.

_I'll give it to him later_, she thought. Then she froze as she heard a scream somewhere within the forest. _Sakura!_ She frantically and ran towards the source of the noise. _Kakashi's gotten to Sakura and now heading for Sasuke-san. I'd better help Sakura first and see if she's okay._

Hikari ran and stopped as she saw Sakura, lying on the ground, her mouth foaming.

"Sakura-chan?" she called. Sakura made no movement. Hikari walked over to the unconscious Sakura and gently shook her. "Sakura-chan?" she called again. "Are you at all conscious? Can you hear me at all?"

Again, Sakura made no movement or sound. Hikari pulled out a white rag from her pouch and wiped the foam off of Sakura's mouth.

_Kakashi must've scared her really badly..._Hikari thought. She placed two fingers on Sakura's wrist to check her pulse and laughed. _Ah, poor thing._

"Sakura-chan! Wake up! There's no time for a nap!" Hikari yelled. Sakura's eyes fluttered and Hikari let her go. "Sakura-chan...make a sound or a movement if you can hear me," Hikari commanded. Sakura moaned and then quickly sat up.

"Sasuke-kun!" she said.

"Sakura-chan, Sasuke is fine-" Hikari began, but was cut off as Sakura stood and ran off, saying, "Sasuke-kun's in trouble! I've got to help him!"

Hikari sighed as she was left alone again and stood, looking around her as she suddenly felt as if someone was watching her. She turned around and saw Kakashi standing there, holding his book.

"Miko, Hikari," he greeted. "You know, Iruka boasts about you a lot. You're every bit like your mother. She used to tend to plants a lot and she loves to do the things you do now. She was always gentle and kind to anything and anyone."

Hikari blushed slightly as she was praised.

"Kakashi-sensei?" she called softly. He glanced from his book to her as she smiled. "Teamwork's the answer, isn't it?"

Kakashi gave his student a strange look, regarding her in a different light. No one ever knew the answer. So, why this student? After a long pause he spoke.

"Yes, Hikari. It is."

Hikari chuckled. _He never changes._

"How long have you known?"

"Ever since you told us about this exercise."

"And the others don't know?"

Hikari shook her head. "Not at all. They're all focused on getting those bells for themselves. Sakura-chan focuses mainly on Sasuke-san. She wants a bell for him and herself so she can stay together with him. Naruto-kun wants it to continue his path. Of course…you're going to fail them, aren't you?"

"…perhaps. But enough talk, Hikari. Teamwork is the key factor in many teams, yes. But what use is it if a member doesn't know how to use his skills?"

"I suggest you put your book away, then," Hikari remarked as she quickly lunged towards Kakashi, who paid attention to his book. He raised his hand, an uninterested look upon his face.

"Blindly charging at me like Naruto will not help y—" he glanced in Hikari's direction with mild surprise. She wasn't there.

"Up here, Kakashi-_sensei_!"

Kakashi looked up in time to block a kick coming down from above from his student. Hikari quickly bent down to elbow him in the face and smiled when it was blocked.

"Not bad, Hikari."

"Thank you, sensei."

She then twisted her body around and aimed a kick to the side of Kakashi's head, who prepared his free arm to block it. Her leg did not connect with his arm, however, as Hikari once against disappeared.

_Fast…_Kakashi contemplated, smiling a little. _Strange girl._

"Please pay attention!" Hikari yelled. Kakashi looked down at the source of the voice. He jumped in time to avoid a sweep at his legs and landed a little ways away from his student. His bored gaze weighed his opponent carefully.

"It's clear I underestimated you, Hikari."

"Yes, you did." Hikari again ran with full force towards her opponent. Before she reached her destination she jumped up, ready to swing her leg down on her teacher. Kakashi stood in a ready stance to block it. He felt the weight of his student as the leg connected with his arms.

_Powerful_.

Then the weight disappeared. He turned around to find Hikari running away from him in the direction of her teammate.

_I see…no wonder Iruka boasts about her_.

Hikari ran towards one of her teammates. She knew before she encountered her teacher that Sasuke had gotten to Kakashi first.

_He should be around here…_ she thought, looking around. She arrived to a clearing and sure enough was her teammate.

Sasuke's whole body had been buried, save for his head, underground and he didn't look too happy. His ears perked up as he heard the noise and sighed.

"Need help?" Hikari asked as she walked in front of Sasuke and sat on her knees in front of him. He gave a stiff nod and Hikari placed her hands around the dirt around Sasuke's head. But just before she could dig, Sakura came out of the woods and froze right in place as she saw Sasuke.

"Sakura..." Sasuke said, and Sakura screamed.

"Ah! The decapitated head is talking!" she screamed, then fainted. Hikari laughed slightly and turned to Sasuke who had a confused look in his eyes.

"She's okay...just scared...again," Hikari said, then began digging, carefully avoiding his throat. When she dug down to his waist, he began helping her. The hole became deep as they both dug deeper, trying to get him out. When they were down to his ankles, they both bent down and hit head. Hikari blushed, and quickly mumbled an apology before she continued her task to set her teammate free from the earth. In no time at all, Sasuke was free and he climbed out. Then he leaned over the edge and held out his hands to Hikari.

Hikari grasped his hands and gasped as Sasuke pulled her out as if she was a feather. Sasuke was surprised at how light she was and pulled her out with too much strength, causing her to almost fly out of his grip. However, he caught her and fell back, bringing his childhood friend with him.

Hikari picked her head up off of his chest and blushed as she came in eye contact with Sasuke. He looked at her face. There were smudges of dirt everywhere and she looked so dirty. But he didn't care, all he could think about was the warm body on him that he held by the waist. He felt as if he was eight again and wiped the dirt off of Hikari's face, but because his fingers were dirty, he just smudged more dirt around. He stopped and just continued staring into her strange colored eyes.

Hikari's kunzite began to glow a red color and it warmed her body. She quickly scrambled off, saying sorry and blushed. Sasuke sat up, a little pink on his cheeks, and looked at Sakura. Hikari followed his gaze and nodded. She watched as Sasuke walked over to their teammate and lightly shake her shoulder.

"Hey..." he said. Sakura's eyes fluttered open and gasped as she saw Sasuke's face. She quickly sat up and hugged him around the neck. Hikari took out a different rag from when she cleaned off the foam on Sakura's face and started cleaning her own face.

When she saw that it was futile, she stopped and sighed.

"You're alive!" Sakura screamed, still hugging Sasuke.

"Yeah...okay, Sakura...get off!" he yelled. Then got up as Sakura immediately let go.

"Time's running out," he said. "I'm off."

Sakura got an anxious look on her face.

"You can't be serious Sasuke. Do you really think that you can get one of those bells?"

"I got close enough to touch one," he replied. "This time, I'll take it and I won't hesitate."

"What!" Sakura exclaimed. "Wow...you're so amazing, Sasuke..."

_This is awful! I'll never get a bell! And if I don't...then I'll be separated from Sasuke! _Sakura through franctically.

"Um...I mean...there's no more time and...even if we couldn't manage to get it this time...I'm sure next time...if we give it our very best..."

But then she trailed off as Sasuke glared at her. Sakura gulped as she realized that failure wasn't ever going to make Sasuke happy and sighed.

"Only I can kill him..." Sasuke began.

"Who? Sasuke-kun...you mean Kakashi-sensei, right?" Sakura asked, completely confused on what Sasuke was talking about. Hikari, however, knew exactly what Sasuke was talking about and turned her head away.

"He...made me...cry..." Sasuke added reluctantly.

"You cried?" Sakura asked in disbelief.

_I remember that night clearly_, Hikari thought.

"My..." Sasuke began.

"What?" Sakura asked. "What...what are you talking about?"

"My only goal...is to have my revenge. I have to become stronger than he is...now."

Sakura remembered what Sasuke had said when they all introduced themselves. Then suddenly, a sharp ring cut through the tense air, bringing everyone back to reality.

"Damn," Sasuke cursed. "I should've held my breath."

Everyone was back at the stumps ten minutes later. Naruto was tied to the middle stump, Sakura on Naruto's left, and Sasuke on Naruto's right. Beside Sasuke, was Hikari, who had her knees drawn up to her chest. Kakashi stood in front of them as he heard Naruto's, Sasuke's, and Sakura's stomach growl.

"Oh...listen to all those stomach's growl," he said in a cheerful voice. He was greeted with glares from everyone but Hikari, who ignored her sensei. "By the way...you four...I have an announcement about the exercise. None of you need to worry about being sent back to the academy," he said.

Sakura and Naruto smiled while Sasuke smirked. Hikari sighed and looked off towards the pond beside them.

Naruto screamed for joy, Sakura jumped, and an annoyed look briefly passed over Hikari's face before becoming passive. Sasuke managed to catch Hikari at the moment and blinked. Judging by the movement underneath the mask, everyone guessed that Kakashi was happy for them. Hikari guessed something else.

"This means that all four of us..." Naruto began but was cut off by Kakashi.

"...fail. More schooling would be pointless. None of you will ever be shinobi...save for Hikari," Kakashi finished. Hikari scoffed lightly, still looking away.

_Asshat, _was the only thought that came to Hikari's mind.

Kakashi now glared at Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke.

"Give it up. None of you will ever be a ninja!"

Hikari pulled at the kunzite at her neck that alerted her of her teammates' contrasting emotions.

**~*With Iruka and the Hokage...*~**

"You invited me to lunch because you had questions about Kakashi, am I correct?" the Hokage asked Iruka.

"Hai," Iruka answered. "Team 7...Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, and Hikari...what kind of teacher did they get? Is he strict or...?"

"It worries you?" the Hokage asked and handed Iruka a small handbook that had the kanji characters that spelled out _'The Ninja Way_' on the front.

"This is a roster of all of Kakashi's previous students among the lowest level shinobi, who passed and who failed." Iruka flipped through the pages and gasped.

"It...It says...It can't be!"

**~*Back With Team 7...*~**

"What do you mean just 'give up,'" Naruto yelled angrily. "Give me a break! Okay, so maybe none of us got our hands on one of your damn bells...so what? But why the hell should we quit over that?"

"Because none of you got what it takes...save for Hikari," Kakashi added quickly. Suddenly, Sasuke stood and charged at Kakashi, who quickly flattened Sasuke onto his stomach with his left arm twisted behind his back, with Kakashi sitting on him. Hikari's attention was finally caught and she watched with mild amusement.

"What you are...is a bunch of spoiled brats..." Kakashi said venomously.

"Stop! You can't step on Sasuke as if he were just a bug!" Sakura yelled.

"On the contrary, Sakura. I can," Kakashi answered calmly. "Are you trying to make fun of the shinobi ways with your behavior? Did you even think, for one second, why you were divided into teams?"

"Uh...excuse me?" Sakura asked. Kakashi sighed.

"Guess not," he said under his breath, then closed his eyes. "So you missed the entire point of the exercise..."

"It had a point?" Naruto asked, completely confused.

"Of course," Kakashi answered. "If you actually got it, like Hikari, then you would have passed."

"But...you haven't even told us what it was!" Sakura exclaimed. Kakashi sighed heavily.

"Dear god..." he muttered. Then looked at Hikari.

"Tell us already!" Naruto exclaimed. Hikari sighed and said in a quiet but firm voice, "Teamwork."

Realization hit the other three like a wave.

"If all of you had come at me together, then you might have been able to take the bells," Kakashi explained. Sakura stood with her arms out.

"If we were expected to act as a team, then why did you have only two bells? Even if we worked together, two of us would still have to go without lunch. You keep preaching about teamwork, but you played us against each other!"

"Of course, this exercise was designed to cause tension and suspicion in your team...and the situation was set up to reveal which of you would set aside your differences and ask others that you work together for the good of all of you. Instead...you Sakura, ignored Naruto and Hikari who were right in front of you while you focused on Sasuke, though you didn't even know where he was. Plus, Sakura, I do believe that Hikari gave you energy, and woke you up after fainting once then made Sasuke wake you up again after you fainted...again.

"And Naruto tried to do something that all of you should have done together. Plus, I think Hikari was going to offer you some food and teamwork, Naruto. And she also got you out of both traps. But you ran off without giving her a chance to say anything.

"And you..." Kakashi pushed Sasuke's head into the dirt with his foot. "You have already decided that the other three just got in your way and that you were better off playing solo. Hikari gave you food to keep your energy up and you still refused to do anything together with anyone. And, correct me if I'm wrong, she also helped you out of the earth.

"Hikari knew the answer all along and she tried to ask you all but you either ignored her or ran off without listening to what she had to say. Yes, it is important for ninja to have individual skills, but what is even more important now is teamwork! Making a solo mission out of a mission that uses teamwork exposes your team into unnecessary danger. You might as well kill them yourself. Here's an example..."

Kakashi quickly took out a kunai and held it to Sasuke's throat. "Sakura! Kill Naruto now or Sasuke will die!"

Hikari heard Sakura gasp and saw Naruto turn his head from Kakashi to Sakura, actually believing that Sakura might kill him, but then let out a sigh of relief as Kakashi put up his kunai and got up off of Sasuke.

"That day will come...when one of you may be taken as a hostage and you're forced to make such a choice. When you are on a mission, your life is always on the line." Kakashi walked behind the four and touched a marble rock in front of a large sun dial.

"Look at the marker," Kakashi said. "The names carved in the stone...are the heroes of Konohagakure. Ninja."

"Wow!" Naruto exclaimed. "I've made up my mind and I want to be just like them!"

Kakashi cleared his throat. "But...the ones listed here aren't just ordinary heroes..."

"REALLY?" Naruto asked, thoroughly impressed. "Then what kind are they? Come on! Tell me!"

"Naruto-kun..." Hikari called softly. "There...K.I.A..." Hikari watched as Naruto's smile faded.

"This is a memorial," Kakashi continued. "It includes the names of my best friends...pay attention...! I'm giving you one last chance. One that will be far more difficult than out last little game with the bells. Sasuke, Sakura, and Hikari, will be able to eat the bento boxes. But no sharing with Naruto. He goes hungry."

"Why?" Sakura questioned.

"He brought it on himself when he thought he could eat the lunch for himself. If any of you feed him, you fail the test right there. Including you Hikari," Kakashi said. "My word is law. Understand?"

Everyone nodded, including Hikari who thought of a plan as they did so.

"Hey!" Naruto said optimistically. "This'll be easy! I can go without lunch...no problem!" But then...his stomach growled. Five minutes later, everyone was eating, all except Hikari, who picked at her food as Naruto's stomach grumbled again. Hikari sighed and stood and walked to the river, going with her plan. Everyone watched her as she jumped in, washing all the dirt off of her, then came back up. She trudged to where the others were, and spoke.

"Give me your rice, you two," Hikari demanded, and smiled as Sasuke and Sakura both gave up what was left of their rice to her. The two just blinked as they watched her make the rice into rice cakes. Everyone just stared, then blinked again as she had five small ones made.

"Okay, Naruto," she said. "I want you to open your mouth as wide as you can. I'm going to throw these in your mouth.

"They're small enough that they'll fit and if you catch them in your mouth, it touches your lip before you swallow it so technically, you're feeding yourself. Plus, these are small enough that you will go slightly hungry. Kakashi-sensei said nothing about slightly hungry, he just said hungry. Ready?"

"But...Hikari!" Sakura protested loudly. "Didn't you hear what Kakashi-sensei-"

"Didn't you just hear what I said?" Hikari retorted in a soft voice. "Just make sure it touches your lip, Naruto-kun."

Hikari threw the rice cakes neatly into his mouth and smiled as each one hit his lip. She took her own, herb modified rice cake and threw it into his mouth, and he caught it. But as soon as he swallowed it, a big explosion of smoke took place and Hikari quickly got up and got into fighting stance.

_You wouldn't, Kakashi_, she thought. _You soft little liar._

**~*Back With Iruka and Hokage...*~**

"This...this is..." Iruka stuttered.

"Yes...there's no denying that Kakashi is extremely strict...and when his students come to him, they are utterly naive. I can see that but..." the hokage was cut off by Iruka.

"No one? No one at all?" he asked.

"Yes...Kakashi never passes anyone...ever."

**~*Back to Team 7...*~**

Sakura covered her face and Sasuke got into fighting stance while Naruto screamed.

"YOU!" bellowed Kakashi as he came out. "...Pass," he said pleasantly, the smoke immediately clearing. He winked and smiled. Hikari smiled too, happy with her plan.

"Eh...?" Sakura said. "What?" Naruto asked.

"We pass?" Sakura exclaimed. "But...how?"

"Every one of you have just taken a gigantic step forward."

"How?" Sakura repeated, falling to her knees.

"Up until now, you three have done nothing except listen to me like little robots. A true shinobi seek the hidden meanings within the hidden meaning. In a ninja's world, those who violate the rules and fail to follow orders are scum. But those who do not care for and support their teammates...are worse than scum!"

Sakura jumped for joy, Sasuke had his smirk back, and Naruto's face broke into a smile, causing Hikari to smile. "This exercise is now finished!" Kakashi said with a thumbs up.

"You all pass. That's all for today. Your duties will start again tomorrow!"

"I...I did it! I'm a ninja, ninja, ninja!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Let's go home," Kakashi said. Sasuke and Sakura gathered up their stuff and walked with their sensei, completely proud of themselves. Hikari, however, walked to Naruto, untied him, and hugged him, jumping up and down in joy.

"You did it, Naruto! You passed! You're on your way of becoming the best hokage ever!" she exclaimed. Naruto hugged back.

"No, Hikari-chan," he said. "_We_ did it. _We_ passed. And _we_ are on our way to our dreams!"

**-*Author's Notes*-**

**Sennen Goroshi*** = A thousand years of death/pain.


End file.
